Line-attached clothespin



- J y 2 1952 w. c. STYLES 2,603,846

LINE-ATTACHED CLOTHESPIN Filed July 9, 1951 Fig.4

William 6. Styles INVENTOR.

BY wgimwmvizyh Patented July 22, 1952 "UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEWilliam 0. Styles, Steppville, Ala. Application July 9, 1951, SerialNo-235,679

The present invention relates to certain new and useful improvements inso-called lineattached clothespins, that is, clothespins when once theyare attached to the line, remain constantly in position on the linewhereby to obviate the necessity of handling the clothespins over andover or running the risk of misplacing or otherwise losingthe same. Morespecifically, the invention appertains to a clothespin which isfashioned from a single length of resilient wire which is especiallybent between its ends and upon itself to define special adaptations anda unique association and combination of the same.

It will be evident from the preceding general statement of the inventionthat it is not new in the art to bend a length of wire between its endsand to otherwise bend intermediate and end portions to thus produce aclothespin. As a matter of fact, there are many and various wireclothespins and also numerous ones wherein the clothespin includes aneye or an equivalent part which is intended to remain constantly on theclothesline.

It is an object of the instant invention tostructurally, functionallyand otherwise improve upon prior art wire clothespins and, in so doing,to provide one in which manufacturers, users, and others will find theiressential requirements and needs fully met, contained and eifectuallyavailable. g

Another object of theinvention is, to provide an all wire clothespinwhich is simple of construction, is susceptible of being turned outon asatisfactory mass production basis, is economical, easy to package andhandle, relatively economical and, generally speaking, a novelly uniqueconstruction.

Other objects and advantages will become more readily apparent from thefollowing description and the accompanying sheet of illustrativedrawmgs.

In the accompanying sheet of drawings, wherein like numerals areemployed to designate like parts throughout the views:

Figure 1 is an elevational view showing a fragmentary length or portionof a conventional wire or equivalent clothesline, showing articlessuspended thereon for drying and showing a plurality of the improvedwire clothespins and the manner in which they are attached to the lineand also how they are used.

Figure 2 is a perspective view on a slightly larger scale showing afragmentary portion of a clothesline and showing one of the improvedclothespins and, in addition, showing it in its normally suspendedout-of-use position and its 2 Claims. (Cl. 24-439) 2 partly swung up,intermediate or dottedline position, the position assumed before it isflipped axially to take the final position shown in Figure 4.

Figure 3 is an exaggerated elevational view observing the constructionseen in Figure 4 in a direction from left to right with the lineremoved.

Figure 4 is an enlarged side elevation showing a fragmentary portion ofthe line and the clothespin in the position it takes for purposes ofclamping an article on the line. Briefly described, the novelclothespin' is characterized by a single length of wire bent upon itselfmidway between the ends of the wire, the portions of the wire adjacentto said bend being crossed and thus overlapped and defining an elongatedeye and a complemental double-strand shank portion, the latter beingdisposed at an approximate obtuse angle relative to the lengthwisedimension of said eye, the strands beyond said shank portion both beingconvoluted into at least one coil and the respective coils beingcompanion jaws and in opposed line-straddling, clothes gripping andretaining positions.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to Figure l, theclothesline which is, of course, conventional is denoted by the numeral6. Shown suspended and clipped thereon are certain articles, forexample, a bed sheet 8 at the left and a towel or the like l0 at theright. Either one or two clothespins will be used, depending on thesituation and the discretion of the user, as is obvious. It may bepointed out that the clothespins are preferably attached to remain onthe line and are applied in left and right pairs as shown, for example,in Figure 1 where the right-hand one is at the right, and the left-handone at the left, obviously. Actually, the only thing that is necessaryis to alternately apply the attaching eyes of the respective clothespinsin order to bring about this left and right paired relationship.Actually, the clothespin is the same in construction, and for thisreason a single pin is being described in detail. To this end, theclothespin, as before stated, is fashioned from a single length of Wirehaving necessary or requisite inherent resilient friction-clamping andretention properties. As a unit, the clothespin is denoted by thenumeral 12 and reference is first made to Figure 3, where it will beseen that the length or piece of wire, of proper gauge, is bent exactlymidway between its ends, as at M, and is then bent into criss-crossoverlapping relationship, as shown at the points I 6 and I8. Theseseveral bends M, [6 and I8 define an elongated line-attaching eye 20.The eye is threaded on the clothesline and once the clothespin isapplied it is left in position as is common practice with theseclamp-types of clothespns. Beyond the crossed portions or bends IS, thestrands or end portions of the Wire are bent alongside one another andrun' for a slight distance, as noted, for example, at the points 22 and24 in Figure 4. These bendsdefine what may be best described as a shank26.1 Thus far, there is an elongated attaching eye 25] and a shank 26,and these two components conjoin in somewhat obtuse angularrelationship. The third bending step has to do with the fashioning andfinal production of a pair of spaced apart or opposed resilientfrictionclamping jaws. Actually these jaws or grips are coiled endportions of the Wire, that is, the

coils which are formed by way of the free end portions of the respectivestrands or ends of said wire. Actually, there could be ,a simple singlecoil-on each free end. As a matter of fact, it is to be explained thatthe ends-are formed into a pair of convolutions defining coil-type gripsor jaws 28 and 30. Then there are half-coils 32 and 34 formed forstrengthening and reinforcing the over-all construction, the terminalends-of the respective half-coils being denoted at 36 and 38. It followsthat'the Clothespin is, as previously stated, characterized by a pair ofringlike or annular jaws each embodying a coil and a half, a shankportion 26 and a line-attaching eye 20. The features zll and 26 areat anapproximate-tangent to the jaw-forming coils, as best brought out inFigure 4. ,Theclothespins may be allowed'to hang downfree andloosely-when not in use, as shown'in full lines at the left in Figure 2In this case, when his necessary to bring the clothespin. into play, thethingto do is to swingit up'bodily through approximately ninety degreesin the arcuate path denoted by the arrow D. Then, with the jawsstraddling the clothesline and the'eye still attached,'of course, theentire clothe'spin is given an axial twistso that it rotates around theaxis of the line Gin the direction of the arrow E. It then obviouslytakes the final clothes-gripping position shown in Figure l. What withthe pins properly paired and in this last-named position, as shown, forinstance, in Figure 1, effective results may be assured.

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, it

is believed that a clear understanding of the device will be quiteapparent to those skilled. in this 4 art. A more detailed description isaccordingly deemed unnecessary.

Minor changes in shape, size, materials and arrangement of parts may beresorted to in actual practice without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as claimed.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A wire clothespin of a type which is adapted to be attached andretained constantly on a clothesline comprising a one-piece clothespinfashioned from a single length of flexibly resilient wire bent uponitself midway between the ends of the wire to form an eye sized andshaped to encircle the clothesline and being thus adapted to be slidablyand rotatably attached to said clothesline, the portions of the wireadjacent to said eye being crossed and thus overlapped and defining adouble-strand shank portion, the latter being disposed at an approximateobtuse angle relative to the lengthwise dimension of said eye, the freeend portions of saidwire at points beyond said shank portion each beingconvolved into at least one circular coil and the respective: coilsproviding companion jaws which are in opposed line-straddling andclothes-gripping and retaining positions, said shank being disposed atan-approximate tangent to said coils.

2. A wire clothespin of a type which is adapted to be attached andretained constantly on' a clothesline comprising a one-piece clothespinfashioned from a single'length of flexiblyresilient wire bent uponitself. midway between the ends of the wire to form an eye sized andshaped to encircle the clothesline and being thus adapted to be slidablyand rotatably attached to said clothesline, the free end'portions ofsaid wire being convolved upon themselves to define apair of duplicate.opposed and aligned line-straddling clothes-gripping jaws, each jawembodying "a complete circular coil and a stabilizing comple' mentalpart coil-,'the' latter superimposed against the companion portion ofthe cooperating complete coil.

-WILLIAM' C. STYLES;

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 353,619 BergeronNov. 30,1886

670,306 Bering 'Mar; 19,1901

